Pakistan carries out airstrikes on multiple sites in Afghanistan

Pakistan launched a wave of airstrikes targeting multiple locations across Afghanistan, marking a sharp escalation in cross-border hostilities that risks undermining ongoing diplomatic mediation.

The latest military action follows what Pakistani officials described as a thwarted cross-border infiltration attempt by militants and an influx of rudimentary drones fired toward Pakistani territory. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar announced the strikes, posting aerial footage that showed aerial bombardments hitting sprawling compounds in Taliban-controlled areas. According to Islamabad, the operations were designed to destroy militant hideouts, support infrastructure, and drone launch sites linked to recent attacks against civilians and security personnel inside Pakistan. The airstrikes struck the southern and eastern Afghan provinces of Kandahar, Paktia, and Khost.

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Afghan government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid strongly condemned the operation, stating that four civilians were killed in the southern and eastern Afghan provinces. Mujahid rejected Pakistan's allegations regarding cross-border drone launches and warned of severe consequences for the military regime in Islamabad. These shameless acts of aggression and attacks by the Pakistani military regime will be met with an appropriate response, he said in a statement. The United Nations mission in Afghanistan previously confirmed civilian casualties stemming from a separate round of Pakistani airstrikes earlier in the week, which Islamabad claimed had neutralized dozens of militants.

Tensions between the two neighbors have mounted steadily since the Afghan Taliban returned to power, with Islamabad repeatedly accusing Kabul of harboring anti-Pakistani militant factions, such as the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan. Kabul has consistently denied these claims. Pakistani officials stated that security forces had neutralized eight rudimentary drones launched by the Afghan Taliban before they could enter the northwestern city of Kohat and the border town of Torkham. Afghan forces allegedly fired mortars and other heavy weapons at Pakistani border posts, prompting Pakistani forces to respond with artillery fire targeting Taliban border posts, mortar sites, and defensive positions. The deteriorating security situation has further complicated delicate peace talks.

Monday's airstrikes followed a shootout with militants in Hangu, a district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghan border, that killed six Pakistani security personnel. Days earlier, a suicide bomber struck a mosque inside a police compound in the nearby city of Kohat. Eight gunmen then stormed the compound, triggering a 20-hour gunbattle that killed at least 21 people, most of them police officers. No group had claimed responsibility for the attacks, though Pakistani authorities blamed the violence on the Pakistani Taliban and allied militant groups.

International observers fear that the persistent cycle of retaliation will completely unravel peace talks involving China, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. Diplomatic efforts have struggled to find common ground as border skirmishes intensify. Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar expressed concern on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly about the presence of more than two dozen anti-Pakistani militant groups in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, regional security dynamics remain under immense strain.

What happens next depends heavily on whether Kabul and Islamabad heed international calls for de-escalation or allow further border clashes to provoke a wider conflict. Mediators from neighboring states are expected to press both governments for restraint in the coming days, though neither side has signaled a willingness to back down from its stated security positions.